Kevin Tripp joins Asteres’ board

SAN DIEGO A provider of automated pharmacy and wellness kiosks has named a retail veteran to its board of directors.

Asteres, maker of ScriptCenter, appointed Kevin Tripp, a former EVP and Midwest division president at Supervalu, to its board. Tripp joined Supervalu the 2006 acquisition of Albertsons, where he served as EVP drug operations and drug store division president, as well as a member of the corporation’s executive council that directed food and drug operations in 37 states. Tripp’s additional prior affiliations included National Association of Chain Drug Stores, as an executive board member, executive committee member and charitable foundation board member. He also served as a board member for the University of Southern Nevada’s College of Pharmacy.

“We are excited to have Kevin join our board,” said Mark de Bruin, Asteres CEO. “Kevin’s wealth of retail operations expertise will be of great value to Asteres as ScriptCenter expands in pharmacy and into the front of the store for health and wellness products.”

Warner Chilcott, Sanofi-Aventis clarify Actonel partnership

ARDEE, Ireland Warner Chilcott will take full control over the promotion, marketing and research-and-development decisions for an osteoporosis drug in the United States under an amendment to an agreement with French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis, Warner Chilcott announced Monday.

The earlier version of the agreement, for the drug Actonel (risendronate sodium), allowed Warner Chilcott to share the costs with Sanofi in the United States.

The agreement between the two companies expires at the end of 2014.

“The amendment to the collaboration agreement will enable Warner Chilcott to assume full control over the promotion and marketing of the Actonel brand in the United States,” Warner Chilcott president and CEO Roger Boissonneault said. “This will allow us to adjust our promotional plans in the U.S. as we prepare for the potential launch of the next-generation Actonel product.”

FDA seizes drugs from Beehive Botanicals

SILVER SPRING, Md. Federal government officials seized “dozens” of products from a company they said had been warned about misstating its medical benefits.

The Food and Drug Administration announced Monday that U.S. Marshals seized products including creams, capsules, tablets, gum, throat spray and shampoos from Haywood, Wis.-based Beehive Botanicals.

According to the FDA, the company misbranded the products by promoting them on its Web site as capable of preventing and curing diseases such as asthma, dermatitis, ulcers, cancer and others. The agency said that the claims meant the products were drugs and were thus subject to FDA regulation, but that Beehive had continued marketing them as medically beneficial despite not subjecting them to clinical trials.

“This seizure shows that the FDA will seek enforcement action against companies that promote therapeutic benefits of products not yet evaluated by the agency for safety and effectiveness,” FDA acting associate commissioner for regulatory affairs Michael Chappell said in a statement.

The FDA originally warned Beehive in March 2007 not to make drug claims on its Web site and products, and the company originally complied, but during inspections in September and October 2009, the agency said it found the company still was making inaccurate drug claims.

RELATED NEWS

The Food and Drug Administration has approved a generic of Hoffman-La Roche’s Tamiflu (oseltamivir phosphate) capsules from Lupin. The company’s generic will be available in 30-, 45- and 75-mg dosage strengths.
The product is inficated to treat acute, uncomplicated influenza A and B in patients 2 weeks of age and older, as well as to prevent influenza A and B in patients 1 year old and older. The drug had U.S. sales of roughly $467.8 million for the 12 months ended October 2017, according to IQVIA data.

Behavioral health pharmacy and telepsychiatry company Genoa, a QoL Healthcare Company, has reached a big number with its remote psychiatry offering. The Tukwila, Wash.-based company announced Tuesday that it had facilitated more than 100,000 telepsych consultations on its video conferencing platform.
Genoa attributes the milestone to its recent buildup of its telepsychiatry operations, which grew to include 35 in 2017 from 20 at the start of the year, and included 250 providers. In 2017, the company grew to serve more than 2,500 patients per week.

This year's flu continues to be Texas big, according to the Walgreens Flu Index released Wednesday, as the top 10 communities experiencing the greatest amount of flu incidence were all located in the Lone Star State for the week ended Jan. 6.
Iowa, Idaho and Arkansas rank behind Texas in terms of flu activity. And Montana, Idaho and Iowa ranked highest among states experiencing flu activity gains.

Amneal Biosciences has launched its generic of Otsuka’s Busulfex (busulfan injection, 6 mg/ml). The product is indicated to treat chronic myelogenous leukemia.
Amneal said that its generic is available in cartons of eight single-dose vials, each of which contains 60 mg of the drug in a 10-ml clear sterile solution. The product is made without natural rubber, latex, gluten or preservatives, Amneal said.
The drug had U.S. sales of roughly $80 million for the 12 months ended October 2017, according to data from IQVIA.

Amneal Pharmaceuticals has launched sevelamer carbonate tablets, 800 mg, in 270-count bottles. This generic from the Bridgewater, N.J.-based company is an AB-rated therapeutic equivalent to Renvela.
Amneal also launched five other products in addition to sevelamer carbonate:

Forgotten Password

Registration complete

REGISTER

USERNAME *

Spaces are allowed; punctuation is not allowed except for periods, hyphens, and underscores.

E-MAIL ADDRESS *

A valid e-mail address. All e-mails from the system will be sent to this address. The e-mail address is not made public and will only be used if you wish to receive a new password or wish to receive certain news or notifications by e-mail.

Password *

Confirm Password *

Please choose a password for your account; it must be 8 - 30 characters. .

First Name *

Last Name *

Company Name *

Job Title *

ZIP *

Are you a *

Retailer or Healthcare professional

Non-Retailer

How many stores do you operate?: *

Which best describes the business/industry you work in?: *

Which best describes your job title?: *

Please select the newsletters you would like to subscribe to

DSN A.M.
Daily news stories covering the retail drug industry

Breaking News
First-to-the-market with developing stories in the industry